Google goes transparent on Street View data collection

Exactly what kind of information does Google collect when those Street View …

Google is attempting to clear the air on exactly what kind of data it collects when its Street View cars roll in front of your house, and how it uses that information. The company isn't just taking photos of the street, but it's not broadcasting a complex database on all your known locations either. Google's revelation about its data collection practices is valuable to those concerned about how the data is used, but the company has once again demonstrated that more transparency earlier in the game is better.

Google's Street View remains controversial in many parts of the world, but especially in Europe, where the service has long received national and EU-wide scrutiny over privacy. In a blog post Tuesday, Google's Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer explained that Google's Street View cars gather information in three categories: photos of the street, WiFi network information, and 3D building imagery. Google maintains that all this information is public and that numerous other services catalog the same information—in some cases, for much longer than Google.

It's the WiFi information that has gotten Google into trouble recently, with German officials asserting that this type of data collection is illegal there. Fleischer says the company collects SSID information as well as the MAC addresses of WiFi routers it encounters along the Street View route—this is for use in Google's location-based services, a laSkyhook Wireless' services that are widely used on mobile devices without GPS. Google insists that it only collects SSID and MAC information on routers that broadcast the names publicly, as that information is accessible by anyone walking down the street with a WiFi-compatible device.

What Google doesn't do is make this data—at least in its raw form—available to the public. Google claims that some other providers do make the MAC addresses available, but the company distills the information down to a triangulated code through its geolocation API so that services like Google Maps or Twitter can make use of the location data. In an attached letter (PDF) to a number of data protection agencies, Google wrote that any speculation about Google making a map or list of WiFi access points is false, and that it does not collect payload data (information on what devices are connected to each network).

In the post, Fleischer made the point several times that other services collect the same data and, in some cases, make it more public than Google. That may be true, but Google apparently failed to discuss its WiFi collection techniques with German authorities beforehand, which contributed to an environment of distrust.

As we wrote last week, Google should recognize that it's under more scrutiny than most other companies when it comes to privacy and data collection. As a result, it needs to default to being as transparent and protective of user privacy as possible every time it launches a new product or service. It's not enough for Google to start out with good intentions and overlook key details that might cause concern for others—it may not be "fair" when other services are doing the same thing, but Google is in a position where it can lead by example.

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui